Kochi

Kochi, previously known as Cochin in English, is a significant port city on India's Malabar Coast, bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. Kochi is the capital of the state of Kerala. That is a part of the district of Ernakulam in the Region of kerala, and it is often referred to as Ernakulam by locals. Kochi is the most densely inhabited city in Kerala, with a population of over one million people. At the end of 2011, it had a corporate limit population of 677,381 people spread over an area of 94.88 km2 and a total urban population of more than 2.1 million people spread across an area of 440 km2, making it the biggest and most populated metropolitan region in Kerala. Kerala's capital city, Kochi, is also a part of the Greater Cochin area, and it is categorised as a Tier-II city by the Indian government. The Kochi Municipal Corporation, which was established in 1967, is the municipal authority that administers the city, while the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) are the statutory organisations that supervise the city's development (GIDA).

Cookery and spices were traded extensively at Kochi, which was known as the "Queen of the Arabian Sea" from the 14th century forward. The city maintained a trade network with Arab traders dating back to the pre-Islamic period. It was in 1503 when the Kingdom of Cochin was designated as a Portuguese protectorate. Kochi was the first European settlement in colonial India, and it was the first European settlement in India. Others of the older structures, such as the Old Harbour House, have survived to the present day, with some having been restored in more recent years. After the Dutch and the British conquered the Kingdom of Cochin, the Kingdom of Cochin was elevated to the status of a princely state within the British Empire. Kochi is the most popular tourist destination in Kerala, attracting both foreign and local visitors in equal numbers. According to a study done by the Nielsen Company on behalf of the Outlook Traveller magazine, the city was rated as the sixth best tourist destination in India. Kochi was rated seventh on Lonely Planet's list of the best 10 cities in the world to visit in 2020, published in October of this year. According to a research conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute in 2011, Kochi was one of 28 Indian towns among the rising 440 global cities that would contribute half of the world's GDP by the year 2025. Kochi was named the top developing future megacity in India by global professional services company JLL in July of this year, according to the firm.